No room at the inn as lobbyists court Canberra

Planning on visiting Canberra this week? Forget about fine dining or hotel suites: pitch a tent and bring a camping stove – the lobbyists have invaded Canberra.

Both houses of the freshly minted 43rd Parliament will sit for the first time tomorrow and business and industry groups, as well as any number of the 276 registered lobbyists, are descending upon Canberra to have their say.

“I’ll be there with bells on," said Institute of Chartered Accountants tax counsel Yasser El-Ansary, who heads to Canberra tomorrow to meet with government.

At the top of his priority list are proposed changes to the research and development tax regime and the scope of the proposed tax summit.

“Accommodation is pretty tight down there – we’ve been bumped from the hotel that we’d usually stay at because it was booked out," Mr El-Ansary said.

An inconvenience, but it could be worse.

“Last year, one of my staff slept in his car," said Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia chief executive
Pauline Vamos
, speaking of a visit to Canberra during parliamentary sitting time.

Ms Vamos plans to meet with Assistant Treasurer
Bill Shorten
and will focus on some “quite urgent" technical issues that need attention, including capital gains tax for fund mergers, the effect of recent changes to the treatment of disability payments, the regulatory framework around a data standards industry body, as well as a look at the “big picture".

Related Quotes

Company Profile

“I have friends down there and IThave no shame in knocking on someone’s door and asking if there’s a bed for the night," she said. “And if I have to knock at the Lodge [the official Prime Minister’s residence], I will."

The Medina is completely booked for the next two weeks, while Rydges Capital Hill, the Hyatt and Clifton Suites each declared themselves fully booked until Thursday.

Not one of the 57 Canberra hotels found in the online booking site lastminute.com had rooms for tomorrow night – from the budget Hotel Formule 1 to the Diamont Boutique Hotel, although the latter could put you up for $450 on Wednesday night (as of last Friday).

Nor is there room at any of the 73 Canberra hotels listed on wotif.com.

Even the backpackers is full, creating more work for Debra at Dickson Backpackers.

Cafes and restaurants will also see a surge in trade – something they’re used to during sitting weeks, which is compounded this week by the tourist trade keen to view some of the 1 million flowers in bloom at the annual Floriade festival or visit the much-trumpeted “new look" of the National Gallery of Australia, which is to be revealed this Friday.

The Chartered Accountants clan is looking forward to enjoying a meal at one of Canberra’s fine dining destinations, Ottoman Cuisine.

“They’re all very, very busy," he said, noting that it was usually the “staffers" who dined, with both Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott having made flying trips in the past – Mr Abbott stopped in for a mere mocha.

Caterers within parliament house will also burn a few more calories as they cater for increased demands.

Parliament House Catering by the Intercontinental Hotels Group, which caters the staff dining room, public cafe, members and events, is “all geared up for it", according to director of operations Andre van der Kouw.

“We’re always busy during sittings," he said, foreseeing “five pretty busy weeks coming", with Parliament due to sit again during October and November.

However, at least “the days fly by" for Mr van der Kouw and his crew.

Taxation Institute of Australia senior tax counsel Robert Jeremenko is not terribly fussed that dining might be tricky.

“As long as I can get some sort of sustenance – it’ll more likely be a quick pasta or sandwich," Mr Jeremenko said.

He’ll be busy with work, being “keen to speak with the new Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten and to make him aware of the key membership concerns around tax".

For Mr Jeremenko, “top of the radar" issues include the taxation of trusts, a long-term plan for superannuation and ensuring GST is on the table at the tax summit.

Mr El-Ansary also wants to see GST on the table.

This week, it might be the best they can ask for. And it doesn’t come with fries.